A 19-year-old from Naypyitaw’s Lewe Township died within three days of his arrest for alleged connections to a local bomb attack, according to sources close to the victim.
On the evening of December 1, Phone Myat Ko, a resident of Ward 5, was arrested by junta personnel from the fried rice stall where he worked. Locals and individuals close to his family told Myanmar Now that he was accused of involvement in an explosion near a police checkpoint in central Lewe that morning.
The Naypyitaw People’s Defence Team claimed responsibility for the blast, which reportedly caused no casualties.
A family friend said that military representatives informed Phone Myat Ko’s mother of his death on Sunday afternoon as they were returning his phone and motorcycle to her.
“When his mother asked about her son, they told her that he had died. When she asked them why, they said that he had coronary heart disease and that he had died from that,” the friend said.
It is not uncommon for the military to claim that those killed in its custody died of underlying medical conditions.
Phone Myat Ko’s body was cremated at Kway Gyi cemetery in Pobbathiri Township that evening. His family was only permitted to see his face, as his body was wrapped in blankets by the military.
He is survived by a brother, as well as his parents.
Phone Myat Ko used to assist his mother at her shop in Lewe market, often also working nights at a roadside fried rice stall on the old Yangon-Mandalay road through Lewe, according to a local man from Dekkhinathiri Township.
“He was such a helpful kid at the shop. He always used to give me extra whenever I would buy from there,” he told Myanmar Now.
Phone Myat Ko’s friends described him as polite and charismatic, noting that he “got along with everyone.”
“Even if he did commit the crime they accused him of, they could have taken proper legal action against him, not killed him brutally like this,” a Lewe local said. “He was killed for one reason: to instill fear in the minds of the public so that they don’t dare to do anything [to threaten the military] in cities like Naypyitaw.”
The military council has not released any information regarding Phone Myat Ko’s arrest or death.
Last year, at least two other locals were confirmed to have been killed in the same Lewe interrogation centre as Phone Myat Ko: a 36-year-old middle school teacher from Ward 6 in December, and a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party from Zabuthiri Township in March.
Since the February 2021 coup, at least 50 people have been arrested throughout Naypyitaw for suspected involvement in the armed resistance movement. Many are believed to have been tracked by the junta through the area’s sophisticated CCTV surveillance system, which was set up by the ousted NLD government.
The NLD spent more than 4b kyat (nearly US$2m) installing a network of CCTV cameras throughout Naypyitaw during their administration; they were made by Chinese company Huawei, and employ Artificial Intelligence to identify individuals.
Among those recently identified through this technology and subsequently detained were Naypyitaw resistance force members Khin Maung Yin, 37, and 48-year-old Tin Ko Nyein—also known as Shwe Kaung. Last week, they were each sentenced to 40 years in prison by a closed junta court, according to a statement released by the military council.
The men belong to the Naypyitaw Urban Guerrilla Force, according to the leader of the Naypyitaw People’s Defence Team.
Naypyitaw serves as the junta’s administrative capital. Many current and former army generals reside in the area, which remains under martial law and has seen tightened security in recent months, including newly built bunkers and trenches.
Because of this heavy military presence, resistance activities remain rare in Naypyitaw.
